Anyone Know Of A Decent Dog Forum???

Rex_Mundi

Thanks for still coming back to me on this problem. I promised yesterday that I would post the full details on here once my friend brought round the details from the vets. Well I've got the list now, but this is going to take some time to go through. I've been given a detailed two page summary (in tiny print) of everything that has been done so far. It's going to take a while to type this message out, so I think I will do this in the morning with a pot of fresh coffee at my side. I need to work out how to summarise the full details so that you all don't fall asleep halfway through reading it. The list is extremely detailed!

Will post soon!!!

susieb

I would also recommend the dog pages forum, loads of rescue centres post on there and have seen many conditions so will have useful suggestions.

Rex_Mundi

OK.....Well here’s a bit more detailed layout of the problems my friends dog has gone through.

It started out when my friend noticed a large red spot on his paw. He said it just looked like a big spot that could be squeezed. It wouldn’t squeeze, so he took the dog to the vet.

On the list I’ve been given, it looks like this was called ‘interdig cyst’?

My friend was advised that it could be an allergy. He was given antibiotics and steroids, he was told to cut out treats and watch the dogs diet. The spot cleared up a little. My friend noticed that his dog was scratching himself a lot, and chewing his legs as if he was irritated.

He was given special shampoo to try. Also more tablets. I’ll list all the medication at the end of the message.

Next visit ‘erythema’ was still noticed between the paws. More tablets were given.

Next visit. Worse again. ‘Pruritic and cysts’ recurring on feet. He was offered long term steroids. They took a skin scrape this was negative except for ‘staphs/neutrophils’ Given more tablets.

They tested for allergies to grass/weeds/trees/indoor. All negative.

A dietary trial was suggested along with steroids. My friend was asked to only give his dog the dried food to try. The dog lost a lot of weight (nearly a stone).

Next visit. Told to up the food (DD Canine sal/rice) More tablets.

Next visit. Recurrence of severe pruritus, also on head. Steroids repeated to reduce then ‘demodex TX’

Given Malaseb shampoo.

Now the dog is itchy again on chest/head and stomach. Tried Malaseb and restarted steroids.

This is where the problem is now. The vet has admitted that this problem has got him a bit stumped. He believes it is an allergy, but has no idea what is causing it. My friend is desperate for something to help his dog out.

I hope the message isn’t too confusing. As I’m reading through the the list, a lot of it looks like technical notes, and I admit to not understanding what any of it means apart from the odd word or phrase. I hope I’ve given enough info that someone may understand what I’m trying to relay. I’m trying summarise a very long and detailed two pages of vets notes.

Here is the list of the drugs given (in the order that they appear)

Episoothe shampoo 250ML
Cefaseptin tabs 600MG (X28)
Prednisolone 5MG (X10)
Cefaseptin tabs 600MG (X28)
Prednisolone 5MG (X7)
DD Canine Sal/Rice Hills 2KG
Prednisolone tabs vet 5MG
DD Canine L/Rice 415G Hills 1.2
DD Canine Sal/Rice Hills 2KG
Prednisolone tabs vet 5MG (X8)
Prednisolone tabs 5MG (X8)
Malaseb shampoo
Prednisolone tabs 5MG (X14)

I hope this list makes sense to someone. I haven’t got a clue what I’ve just listed.

Cheers

Rex

jonven

What is your friend feeding the dog, as some of the complete foods don't always agree with some dogs. I changed my dogs over to raw food and they have never looked better and I have heard a lot of dogs have improved greatly with some of the conditions they had before.

rushnowt

jonven wrote:

What is your friend feeding the dog, as some of the complete foods don't always agree with some dogs. I changed my dogs over to raw food and they have never looked better and I have heard a lot of dogs have improved greatly with some of the conditions they had before.

This is very true, a lot of the top show kennels feed there dogs on tripe and wholemeal mixer biscuits, just because I food is terribly expensive doesn't mean it's good for you dog :cool:

rushnowt

Hiya Rex

‘interdig cyst’

is nothing to be concerned about, alot of dogs suffer from this, bulldogs in particular, make sure that the feet are kept clean and dry and if one starts to occur, bathe in warm salty water regularly to help it to come to a head. it should just pop and clear up naturally.

erythema

can be triggered by a variety of stimuli, particularly bacterial, viral, or chemical products, does your friend use, things like shake 'N' vac on the carpets, it could be an allergic reaction to this or cleaning products used on floors etc, maybe he could cut these out and see if theres any change.

I'm sure Pruritic is a form of dermatitis, usually caused by flea or food allergy, I'm presumming the dog as been treated for fleas, so it could be an idea to change the dog's food and see if there is any improvement in his condition with that.

Looking at the medication it appears that the dog as been treated for general skin conditions and allergies, the hills science diet is recommended by vets with particular problems and/or dietery needs, if this is not a prescribed diet, then there is no reason not to change it.
I would still recommend that he makes sure that the dog is on no more than a 20% protein diet, the tripe and wholemeal biscuits could also make a difference.
I've used sudocrem in the past to clear up itchy patches and it's worked a treat, and since nothing the vet as suggested so far as worked may be worth a try.

My gut feeling is that the dog is either on too high protein or it as an alergy to some product/s used in the home. ?

Good luck and I hope things improve soon

Let us know how they get on

Rex_Mundi

Thanks Nashnowt. I now know the meaning of what I was typing out!!..LOL

My friend has already changed his dogs diet. On the vets advice, he was only feeding him the food given by the vet. Still the problem got worse, so I'm pretty sure this is not the cause.

The vet admits to being stumped by this problem, he is sure it is some form of allergy, but doesn't have a clue of what it may be. They've tested for all the things they can think of, and the tests came back negative. My friend doesn't have a single carpet in the house, so it's definately not related to any chemicals he may of used on them. The vet said something about that fact that it could be something in the general atmosphere. What a nightmare this would be if it's the case.

I'll give the dog forums a go, maybe someone else out there has had the same problem, and might be able to suggest a completely different idea to try.

I will post again if I get any news.

Thanks to everyone on this. It really is doing my friends head in!

Bossyboots

Personally, my next step would be to give the dog Piriton. He should check the dose with the vet (he may get laughed at, although this is in the veterinary phamacology or whatever the book is called). For my small dog (3 kilos), the dose was 1/4 of a Piriton tablet twice a day. We went as far as giving him 1/3 twice a day when there was an irritant we couldn't remove that affected him and the results were amazing. He had gone through all the things your friend's dog had, including the steriods. He had had lots of tests we now know he did not need. Chewing the feet was also a symptom and that stopped straightaway although the vet says that might have been anxiety at feeling rough with the allergy, rather than a specific allergy symptom. Our vet has admitted, as I think I have put before, that they let the science run away with them and overlooked the simplistic.

If Piriton doesn't help, the vet should then try other ones. We were told that it would be trial and error to get the right one but in fact we got lucky first time. Prior to this, I had stopped using scented fabric softener, biological washing powder, we couldn't take him to a house where someone smoked and had to change if we came home from a smoky household. In fact, the list of changes we made were endless including not allowing him in the same room we were hoovering.